How to remove an Amazon review
Amazon will not remove a review because it is negative or because you believe it is unfair. But reviews that break Amazon's Community Guidelines — fake or incentivized content, a conflict of interest, abusive language, off-topic posts, or promotional spam — can and do come down. Product reviews and seller feedback each have a separate removal path. This is the accurate guide to which is which.
Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
The numbers
Amazon enforces its guidelines — but only its guidelines.
The honest answer
Amazon removes reviews that violate its Community Guidelines, not reviews you wish weren't there.
Fake or incentivized reviews, posts from a reviewer with a conflict of interest, abusive language, off-topic content, and promotional spam are all removable. A genuine customer's honest experience — even a strongly worded 1-star review — is not removable through any official channel, no matter how unfair it seems. Anyone promising to remove any Amazon review is misleading you. The work is identifying the exact guideline it breaks and submitting a documented, precise report through the right channel.
Also relevant: see our guide on how to remove a Google review if you are managing reputation across platforms.
What comes down
The line, drawn clearly.
- Fake or incentivized reviews: written in exchange for payment, free products, or other compensation
- Conflict of interest: posted by a competitor, employee, or anyone connected to a competing brand
- Abusive, threatening, or harassing language toward a person or group
- Off-topic content: a review that comments on the seller rather than the product (product review), or on the product rather than the seller (seller feedback)
- Promotional content or advertising disguised as a review
- Private or personal information: full names of staff, contact details, or photos
- Seller feedback on an FBA order where the complaint is about Amazon's own fulfillment
- An honest account of a genuine purchase experience
- A 1-star rating with no policy violation
- Critical but truthful feedback on the product's quality
- A customer's subjective opinion, even if strongly worded
- For genuine critical reviews, the move is a professional owner response, actively gathering new positive reviews, and a Brand Registry listing so you control the product detail page.
The grounds
The Community Guidelines that get a review removed.
Amazon only acts on a specific, documented violation. Naming the right one with evidence is what changes the outcome.
The clearest violation: a review posted for compensation, free product, or any reward Amazon did not authorize. This is also a federal FTC violation since August 2024.
Competitors, employees, and anyone with a financial or personal relationship to the brand or a competing brand are prohibited from leaving reviews.
Hate speech, threats, and personal attacks on individuals or groups violate Amazon's guidelines and are reportable regardless of whether the purchase was genuine.
Product reviews must be about the item. Seller feedback must be about the seller experience. Content posted to the wrong category is removable under Amazon's relevance rules.
Reviews that contain advertising, external links, or are part of a coordinated posting scheme are policy violations Amazon actively enforces against.
Reviews that include names, contact details, or personal data of employees or others violate Amazon's privacy guidelines and qualify for removal.
Not sure which guideline your review breaks?
Get a free assessmentThe process
How to report an Amazon review, properly.
Match the review to the specific Community Guideline it breaks — fake/incentivized, conflict of interest, abusive, off-topic, promotional, or private info. "Unfair" is not a ground. Screenshot it and document your evidence before acting.
For a product review: click Report abuse on the listing. For seller feedback: go to Feedback Manager in Seller Central and click Request removal. Using the wrong path delays the process.
Name the exact guideline violation and attach any supporting evidence. A specific, evidenced report is far more likely to succeed than a vague complaint. Avoid emotional language — treat it as a policy submission.
If the initial report is rejected, escalate through Seller Central or Brand Registry with additional evidence. For reviews with strong evidence of fake origin, the Brand Registry enforcement channel is more direct than the standard flag tool.
When reporting fails
The escalation ladder.
If a standard report is declined, there are structured escalation paths before pursuing legal options.
The official first step: file through the correct channel in Seller Central or directly on the listing, citing the exact Community Guideline the review breaks.
Brands enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry have access to a more direct enforcement channel for suspected fake or coordinated reviews, with stronger moderation response times.
Where an initial report is declined, a detailed Seller Support case with documented evidence — purchase records, competitor links, review pattern analysis — can reopen the assessment.
For a provably false review that caused measurable harm, a defamation claim targets the reviewer, not Amazon. Amazon is protected by Section 230. Courts can compel disclosure of reviewer identity via subpoena.
Never buy fake positive reviews to counteract bad ones.
Purchasing or incentivizing positive reviews to offset negative ones is a violation of Amazon's Community Guidelines and, since August 2024, a federal offense under the FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule. Civil penalties reach $51,744 per violation. Amazon actively detects coordinated review patterns and can suspend or permanently ban the selling account.
The lawful path is the only path: identify a genuine policy violation in the review, report it through the correct official channel, and manage your overall reputation through legitimate means. Genuine reviews that follow Amazon's guidelines stay up, and no service can change that without breaking the law.
Send us the Amazon review. We'll tell you honestly if it can come down.
A free assessment against Amazon's Community Guidelines, then the documented report process run through official channels. No fake reviews, no guarantees, no false promises.
FAQ
Removing an Amazon review, FAQ
Can you remove an Amazon review?▾
Only if it violates Amazon's Community Guidelines. Removable violations include fake or incentivized reviews, a reviewer with a conflict of interest (a competitor or someone connected to the brand), abusive or threatening language, off-topic content, promotional spam, or private information. A genuine customer's honest review, even a 1-star one, does not get removed just because you disagree with it.
What is the difference between a product review and seller feedback?▾
Product reviews are written about the item itself and appear on the product detail page. Seller feedback is left about your performance as a marketplace seller — shipping speed, packaging, communication. Amazon has separate removal paths for each. Seller feedback that comments only on the product (not the seller experience) can be struck from your seller rating under Amazon's policy.
How do I report a product review on Amazon?▾
Find the review on the product listing, click the "Report abuse" link beneath it, and select the reason. Amazon's moderation team evaluates the report against its Community Guidelines. Be specific: name the exact violation. Reports citing a policy are processed more reliably than vague complaints.
How do I remove seller feedback on Amazon?▾
Go to Seller Central > Feedback Manager, find the entry, and click Request removal. Amazon removes seller feedback automatically if it contains profanity, includes personal information, is entirely a product review rather than a seller experience, or if the order was fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) and the complaint relates to fulfillment.
What happens if Amazon won't remove a review I believe is fake?▾
If a Report Abuse submission is declined, you can escalate through Seller Central or contact Seller Support with additional evidence. For highly damaging reviews with strong evidence of a fake origin, Amazon's Brand Registry provides a more direct channel. Persistent genuine reviews do not get removed through any official channel.
What is the FTC penalty for fake reviews?▾
The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (effective August 2024) sets civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation for buying, posting, or suppressing fake reviews. This applies to brands, agencies, and any third party acting on their behalf. Fake positive reviews are illegal, not just a terms violation.
Do you guarantee the Amazon review will be removed?▾
No. Amazon makes the final moderation decision, so no honest service can promise removal. Anyone guaranteeing an Amazon review takedown is misleading you. We assess the review against Amazon's Community Guidelines, build the strongest possible report, and pursue official channels only.
Keep reading
Sources
Essentras pursues removal of reviews that breach Amazon's published Community Guidelines, through Amazon's own reporting channels and, where a review is unlawful, lawful legal channels. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon. We never remove genuine reviews and never guarantee an outcome, as Amazon makes the final moderation decision. General information only, not legal advice.
Free tool · Authority Audit
Where does your authority actually stand?
Before you fix one piece, see the whole picture. A free Authority Audit scores your presence across Google, AI, Wikipedia, reviews, and press, and shows you exactly where to start.